The Christian Roots of American Liberty
Ave Maria in the Afternoon Segments · Marcus B. Peter, Th.D. and Liberty & Order
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (api.substack.com) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
Was the American founding an Enlightenment invention or organic development of liberty? Liberal or conservative? Secular or Christian? American conservatives traditionally answered “both” to these questions. More recently, new movements on the Right-from national conservatives to neo-integralists to post-liberals to Christian nationalists-have challenged this conviction. Some even dismiss the founding as hopelessly secular. John Pinheiro answers the problem in his latest book, and he joins us.
Further Reading
The Christian Roots of American Liberty: A Reader
Liberty: “The Delicate Fruit of a Mature Civilization”
Guest Info
John C. Pinheiro, Ph.D., is director of research at Acton Institute. He was professor of history and the founding director of Catholic Studies at Aquinas College. His newest book, edited with Dylan Pahman, is The Christian Roots of American Liberty (Acton Institute, 2026). Among his books and articles are the award-winning Missionaries of Republicanism: A Religious History of the Mexican-American War (Oxford, 2014) and The American Experiment in Ordered Liberty (Acton Institute, 2019). He is on X as @DrJohnPinheiro. Follow his Liberty & Order Substack.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit avemariapm.substack.com